Full file at https FratStock eu,Chapter Two,Strategic Training. This chapter provides an in depth treatment of how training should be aligned with the strategic goals of. an organization to help it achieve a competitive advantage The chapter begins by discussing how training. can be strategic along with a discussion of the evolution of the training function It proceeds to discuss. learning as a strategic focus the strategic training and development process and organizational. characteristics that influence training and training needs in different strategies The chapter concludes by. addressing different models of organizing the training department how to create a training brand and the. advantages and limitations of outsourcing training For training to help a company gain a competitive. advantage it must be aligned with its strategic focus If training is not tied to business strategy then its. existence may be tenuous and perhaps unjustified,OBJECTIVES. 1 Discuss how business strategy influences the type and amount of training in a company. 2 Describe the strategic training and development process. 3 Discuss how a company s staffing and human resource planning strategies influence training. 4 Explain the training needs created by concentration internal growth external growth and. disinvestment business strategies, 5 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of centralizing the training function. 6 Explain a corporate university and its benefits, 7 Discuss the strengths of a business embedded learning function. 8 Discuss how to create a learning or training brand and why it is important. 9 Develop a marketing campaign for a training course or program. INTRODUCTION, A business strategy is a plan that integrates the company s goals policies and actions The goals are what. the company hopes to achieve in the future There are both direct and indirect links between training and. business strategy and goals Business strategy has a major impact on the type and amount of training that. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. occurs and whether resources should be devoted to training Strategy has a particularly strong impact on. determining, the amount of training devoted to current or future job skills. the extent to which training is customized, whether training is restricted to specific groups of employees or open to all individuals. whether training is planned and systematic versus developed spontaneously and haphazardly. the importance of training relative to other HRM functions. As more companies recognize the strategic importance of learning the role of training is changing. Training has evolved from a focus on a single learning program or event to a broader set of integrated. learning activities that may continue in the future Along the same lines training evaluation is now more. concerned with whether it impacts the bottom line not just whether trainees have learned new. knowledge and skills The role of training as a program or event will continue into the future because. employees will always need to be taught specific knowledge and skills However these single training. activities will need to be a part of a larger strategic training system. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. LEARNING AS A STRATEGIC FOCUS,The Learning Organization. Learning organization is a term for a company that has an enhanced capacity to learn adapt and change. A single training event or program is not likely to give a company a competitive advantage because explicit. knowledge is well known and programs designed to teach it can be easily developed and imitated. However tacit knowledge developed through experiences and shared with others is more difficult to. imitate As such tacit knowledge is more fundamental to enhance competitive advantage Key features of a. learning organization include a supportive learning environment learning processes and practices and. reinforcement of learning by managers, Implications of Learning for Human Capital Development. The emphasis on learning has several implications, Learning has to be related to helping employees performance improve and helping the company. achieve its business goals, Unpredictability in the business environment will continue to be the norm. Companies need to support informal learning because tacit knowledge is difficult to acquire in. training programs, Learning has to be supported not only with physical and technical resources but also. psychologically, Managers need to understand employees interests and career goals to help them find suitable. development activities that will prepare them for future success. THE STRATEGIC TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, The strategic training and development process involves four steps. Identify the organization s business strategy, Determine strategic training initiatives that align with this strategy. Translate these initiatives into concrete learning activities. Identify metrics to determine whether training has contributed to goals related to the business. Identify the Business Strategy, Strategic training begins with the knowledge of an organization s business strategy Formulating a business. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. strategy involves several interrelated steps, Determine the company s mission the company s reason for existing. Establish company goals what the company hopes to achieve. Perform an external and internal analysis which is known as a SWOT. A SWOT analysis consists of an internal analysis of strengths and weaknesses and an external. analysis of opportunities and threats that currently exist or are anticipated. Determine strategic choice based on the company s mission goals strengths weaknesses. opportunities and threats, Identify Training Initiatives that Support the Strategy. Strategic training initiatives are learning related actions that a company should take to help it achieve its. business strategy The initiatives are based on the business environment an understanding of the. company s goals and resources and insight regarding potential training options There is a tendency for a. disconnect between strategy and execution Accordingly learning professionals must reach out to. managers to ensure alignment and garner necessary resources and support. Strategic training initiatives provide a road map to guide specific training activities and articulate how the. training function will help the company reach its goals Common strategic initiatives include. Diversify the learning portfolio provide more training than traditional programs. Expand who is trained provide more training to more groups of employees. Accelerate the pace of learning provide more just in time training. Improve customer service training should place a greater emphasis on service competencies. Provide development opportunities and communicate with employees ensure employees. recognize they have opportunities to learn and grow. Capture and share knowledge capture and share knowledge to ensure it is not lost if key. employees leave, Align training with the company s direction link training to strategy. Ensure that the work environment supports learning and transfer of training ensure there exists a. positive learning climate for training, Questions to ask in developing strategic training initiatives include. What is the vision and mission, What capabilities and competencies are critical for success. What types of training will best attract develop and retain employees. Does the company have a plan for making sure the link between training and business strategy is. communicated to key constituents,Does senior management support training. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. Does the company provide training for individuals and teams. Provide Activities Linked to Initiatives, The next step in the process is to determine specific concrete activities that align with the strategic. initiatives Such activities will vary based on the initiatives that were developed. Identify and Collect Metrics to Show Training Success. The final step of the strategic training process is to determine if training investments were successful in. helping an organization achieve its goals and objectives Strategic training evaluation is not intended to. evaluate the effectiveness of an isolated training program but rather the value of a set of training activities. The business related outcomes examined should be directly linked to the business strategy and goals. Some companies use the balanced scorecard as a process to evaluate all aspects of the business The. balanced scorecard is a means of performance measurement that provides managers with a chance to. look at the overall company performance or the performance of departments such as training from the. perspective of internal and external customers employees and shareholders The balanced scorecard. considers four different perspectives,Customer time quality performance service cost. Internal business processes processes that influence customer satisfaction. Innovation and learning operating efficiency employee satisfaction continuous improvement. Financial profitability growth shareholder value, ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT INFLUENCE TRAINING. Roles of Employees and Managers, Traditionally employees roles were to perform their jobs according to the managers directions However. with the emphasis on the creation of intellectual capital and the movement toward high performance work. systems using teams employees today are performing many roles that were reserved for management. such as hiring scheduling work and interaction with customers and suppliers As such employees require. greater expertise, Given the greater prevalence of teamwork employees may require more cross training and training in. interpersonal skills, Managers jobs are highly complex requiring training and a high level of skill For example they must. manage employee performance, Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. develop employees and encourage continuous learning. plan and allocate resources,coordinate activities and interdependent teams. manage team performance, facilitate individual and team decision making processes. create and maintain trust,represent one s work group to others. Top Management Support, Top management plays a key role in determining the importance placed on training and learning Top. management may assume any of the following roles,setting a clear direction for learning. providing encouragement and resources,taking an active role in governing learning. developing or teaching new programs, serving as a role model by demonstrating a willingness to learn. promoting learning through various communication channels. Integration of Business Units, The degree of integration of business units affects the approach to training In a highly integrated business. employees need to understand all parts of the company and training must address those needs. Global Presence, For companies with global operations training is needed to prepare employees for overseas assignments. These companies must decide if training will be coordinated through a central U S facility or through. satellite locations near overseas operations,Business Conditions. When unemployment is low and or businesses are growing at a high rate and need more employees. companies often find it difficult to attract new employees find employees with necessary skills and retain. For companies in unstable business environments characterized by mergers acquisitions or disinvestments. of businesses training may be left up to managers and become short term oriented. For companies experiencing growth training may be in greater demand among employees who want to. qualify themselves for lateral job moves and promotions. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. When companies are trying to revitalize and redirect earnings may be flat and there are likely fewer. incentives for participation in training programs, When companies downsize training must focus on ensuring continued employability. Other HRM Practices, Companies that adopt state of the art HRM practices that link to business strategy tend to demonstrate. higher level of performance than firms that do not Training along with selection performance. management and compensation influence attraction motivation and retention of human capital. Staffing strategy refers to a company s philosophy regarding where to find employees how to select them. and the desired mix of employee skills and statuses temporary fulltime etc Companies vary on such. issues as the extent to which they rely on the internal labor market i e current employees versus the. external labor market i e job applicants from outside the company Companies also vary on the extent to. which they make promotion and job assignment decisions based on individual performance versus group. or unit performance These two dimensions can be crossed resulting in four distinct companies. Fortress external group focus companies with limited resources for training that tend to recruit. from the outside, Baseball team external individual focus companies that require innovation and creativity recruit. from other companies or new graduates with specialized skills. Club internal group focus companies in highly regulated industries that rely on developing. their own talent, Academy internal individual focus companies that require specialized skill and focus on. developing their individual employees,Strategic Value of Jobs and Employee Uniqueness. Uniqueness refers to the extent to which employees are rare specialized and not highly available in the. labor market Strategic value refers to employee potential to improve company effectiveness and. efficiency These dimensions can be crossed to characterize four types of employees. Knowledge based workers high value and uniqueness require heavy training. Job based employees high value and low uniqueness require less training than knowledge. Contract employees low value and low uniqueness require limited training. Alliance partnerships high uniqueness and low value training would focus on sharing expertise. and team training, Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. Extent of Unionization, The presence of a union leads to joint union management programs for preparing employees for new. jobs ensuring that all parties buy into the necessary training or changes Given that unions have a. significant impact on HRM practices they must be involved in determining strategic training priorities. Staff Involvement in Training and Development, Managers need to be involved so that training stays related to business needs and training transfer can be. supported Managers become more involved in the training process if they are rewarded for participating. An emerging trend is to have employees initiate the training process bearing the responsibility for. planning their own development with the company supporting their initiatives. TRAINING NEEDS IN DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, A concentration strategy focuses on increasing market share reducing costs or creating and maintaining a. market niche for products and services Key human capital issues include skill currency and the. development of the existing workforce, An internal growth strategy focuses on new market and product development innovation joint ventures. mergers and globalization Key human capital issues include creation of new jobs and tasks innovation. and talent management, An external growth strategy focuses on acquiring vendors and suppliers or buying businesses to enable the. company to expand into new markets Key human capital issues include integration redundancy and. restructuring, A disinvestment strategy focuses on retrenchment turnaround divestiture and liquidation of businesses A. key human capital issue is efficiency,MODELS OF ORGANIZING THE TRAINING DEPARTMENT. Centralized Training, Centralized training means that training and development programs resources and professionals are. primarily housed in one location and decisions about training investment programs and delivery methods. are made from that department There are several advantages of centralization. It helps drive stronger alignment with business strategy. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. It allows development of a common set of metrics or scorecards to measure and report rates of. quality and delivery, It helps to streamline processes and gives the company a cost advantage in purchasing training. from vendors and consultants because of the number of trainees who will be involved. It helps companies better integrate programs for developing leaders and managing talent with. training during times of change, The Corporate University Model Corporate Training Universities. This model of organizing the training function includes employees managers and stakeholders outside. the company including community colleges universities and high schools Corporate universities are. designed to align with the strategic initiatives of the corporation. There are several historical training problems,Excessive costs. Poor delivery and focus,Inconsistent use of training practices. Best training practices not shared,Training not integrated or coordinated. The corporate university model provides many training advantages. Dissemination of best practices,Alignment of training with business needs. Integration of training initiatives,Effective use of new technology and methods. Clear vision and mission, Evaluation of learning focused on employee and business results. Partnership with academia, The following are the steps involved in creating a corporate university. A governing body is formed by senior managers,A vision statement is developed. Funding sources are determined, The degree to which all training will be centralized is assessed. The needs of the university customers are identified. Products and services are developed,Learning partners are selected. Technologies to train employees more effectively are developed. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. Learning is linked to performance improvement, The value of the corporate university is communicated to potential customers. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. Business Embedded BE Learning Function, The BE learning function is characterized by five competencies strategic direction product design. structural versatility product delivery and accountability for results It views trainees managers and. senior level decision makers as customers of training. The most noticeable feature of a BE learning function is its structure In BE learning functions all persons. who are involved in the training process communicate and share resources Trainers who are responsible. for developing training materials delivering instruction and supporting trainees work together to ensure. that learning occurs Trainers not only have specialized competencies but also can serve as internal. consultants by providing a range of services such as needs assessment content improvement and the like. There is an increasing trend for the training function to be organized by a blend of the BE with centralized. training that often includes a corporate university This approach allows the company to gain the benefits. of centralized training but at the same time ensures that training can provide programs content and. delivery methods that meet the needs of specific businesses. Learning Training and Development from a Change Model Perspective. Change involves the adoption of a new behavior or idea There are many reasons why companies are. forced to change including the introduction of new technology the need to better take advantage of. employee skills and capitalize on a diverse workforce and the desire to enter global markets The process. of change is based on the interaction among four components of the organization task employees. formal organizational arrangements structures processes and systems and informal organization. Four change related problems need to be addressed before the implementation of any new training. practice These four change related problems include resistance to change loss of control power. imbalance and task redefinition, Resistance to change refers to employees unwillingness to change. Control relates to employees ability to obtain and distribute valuable resources Changes can. cause employees to have less control over resources. Power refers to the ability to influence others Managers may lose the ability to influence. employees as employees gain access to databases and other information. Task redefinition relates to changes in roles and job responsibilities Employees may not only be. asked to participate in training but also take on new responsibilities. MARKETING TRAINING AND CREATING A BRAND, Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. Despite its value some individuals may not necessarily value training As such training often needs to be. marketed so that key constituents value learning Internal marketing involves making employees and. managers excited about training and learning It is especially important for trainers who act as internal. consultants to business units A variety of internal marketing tactics include. Involving the target audience in developing the training or learning effort. Demonstrating how a training and development program can be used to solve specific business. Showing an example of how training has been successfully used to solve specific business needs in. Identifying a champion who actively supports training. Listening and acting on feedback received from clients managers and employees. Advertising on e mail on company Web sites and in employee break areas. Designating someone in the training function as an account representative who will interact. between the training designer and the customer, Determining what financial metrics top level executives are concerned with and showing how. training will help improve these, Speaking in terms that employees understand avoid technical jargon. OUTSOURCING TRAINING, Business process outsourcing refers to the outsourcing of any business process such as production call. center operations and HRM functions Outsourcing of training refers to the use of an outside company. that takes complete responsibility for and control of training activities including administration design. delivery and development Companies may outsource training for a variety of reasons. Cost savings, Time savings that allow a company to focus on business strategy. Improvements in compliance with training mandated to comply with federal state or local rules. The lack of capability within the company to meet learning demands. The desire to access best training practices, However companies may not outsource training due to an inability of outsourcing providers to meet. company needs and the desire to maintain control Any decision to outsource training is complex Training. functions that do not add any value to the company are likely candidates for outsourcing Many companies. have training functions that do add value to the business but still may not be capable of meeting all. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. training needs Thus certain aspects of training may be outsourced Even when training is outsourced it. must be strategically aligned with the business goals and objectives. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS, 1 How would you expect the training activities of a company that is dominant in its product market to. differ from those of a company that emphasizes research and development. A company that is dominant is the product market may likely adopt an academy model that involves. developing current employees to fill new positions and managerial roles However a company that is. more focused on research and development may likely adopt a baseball team model by luring. employees away from competitors or by hiring graduating students with specialized skills These. companies are more apt to buy skills as opposed to making them Furthermore companies with a. dominant market share likely focus on efficiencies whereas research and development companies. focus on innovation and creativity, 2 What do you think is the most important organizational characteristic that influences training Why. Student answers will vary However while numerous organizational factors may impact the training. function top management likely plays the most significant role because top management provides the. overall architecture and support for the training function Top management may assume a variety of. roles in support of training including,setting a clear direction for learning. providing encouragement and resources,taking an active role in governing learning. developing or teaching new programs, serving as a role model by demonstrating a willingness to learn. promoting learning through various communication channels. 3 Why could the business embedded learning function be considered the best way to organize training. In the BE model all persons who are involved in the training process communicate and share. resources offer a menu of learning options and deliver training at the work site An important. characteristic of the BE model is its customer focus which gives it an edge over other models The. number of trainers in BE training functions varies according to the demand for products and services. The trainers not only have specialized competencies but can also serve as internal consultants. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of. McGraw Hill Education,Full file at https FratStock eu. providing a wide range of services e g needs assessment content improvement customization of. programs results measurement, 4 Schering Plough HealthCare Products decided several years ago to expand its product lines by. developing pocket size sticks and sprays of Coppertone sunblocks previously only available as a lotion. packaged in squeeze bottles The company placed a strategic emphasis on developing markets for this. product The company knew from market research studies that its Coppertone customers were already. using the product in its original squeeze container to prevent sun burn Due to increased awareness of. the dangers of excessive skin exposure customers who had not previously used sunblock except when. at the beach were looking for a daily sunblock product Company managers reasoned that their. market could be expanded significantly if the product were repackaged to fit conveniently in. consumers pockets purses and gym bags Identify the business strategy What training needs result. from this strategy What are the training implications of this decision for 1 manufacturing and 2 the. sales force, The business strategy adopted is internal growth strategy Companies focusing on internal growth. strategy focus on modifying existing products and creating new or different products High quality. communication of product value and conflict negotiation skills can be implemented for the sales force. According to the text the key issues and training implications for this strategy include the following. Key issues,Creation of new jobs and tasks,Innovation. Talent management,Training implications,High quality communication of product value. Development of organizational culture that values creative thinking and analysis. Technical competence in jobs,Specialized programs, In this particular context innovation and creativity would be particularly important. 5 Which strategic training and development initiatives do you think all companies should support. regardless of economic conditions Why,Common strategic initiatives include. Copyright 2017 McGraw Hill Education All rights reserved No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of.